After the Boston Massacre on March 5, 1770, eight British soldiers and their captain, Thomas Preston, were arrested and charged with murder. The trials were delayed to allow tempers in Boston to cool. Many colonists were angry, but they agreed the soldiers deserved a fair trial. Captain Preston was tried first in October 1770. No witnesses could prove he ordered the soldiers to fire, so the jury found him not guilty.
The trial of the other eight soldiers began in November. John Adams, a respected lawyer and patriot, defended them. Adams argued that the soldiers acted in self-defense because they were surrounded, insulted, and attacked by a large crowd. After hearing from many witnesses, the jury found six soldiers not guilty. Two others, Hugh Montgomery and Matthew Kilroy, were found guilty of manslaughter, not murder, because they had fired their weapons. Instead of being sent to prison, they were marked on their thumbs as first-time offenders.
These trials were important because they showed that the colonists believed in the right to a fair trial, even for their enemies. John Adams risked his career to defend the soldiers because he believed that justice must be based on facts, not anger. The trials also proved that America would be a nation of laws, not mob rule.
Glossary
manslaughter: killing someone without planning ahead or intending to cause harm
